The Cumberland Pencil Company in Great Britain has been producing pencils under the Derwent name since 1832. With their state of the art manufacturing techniques, they have recently reformulated their popular line of Pastel Pencils to make them even softer, for smoother strokes and improved performance! These richly pigmented pencils have the softness and blendability of traditional pastels, but encased in a painted wooden barrel, they eliminate the mess of traditional pastels and allow for easy sharpening and detail work.